Small Business Owners & Dyslexics

What do Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways; Charles R. Schwab, founder of the discount brokerage firm that bears his name; John T. Chambers, chief executive of Cisco; and Paul Orfalea, founder of the Kinko’s copy chain all have in common?

They all have Dyslexia! I read an interesting article today in The New York Times, Tracing Business Acumen to Dyslexia discussing the correlation between small (or large in the above examples) business owners and Dyslexia. This is of particular interest to me because I teach at a school for Dyslexics. The Schenck School is a wonderful school who caters to students (K-6) who have dyslexia.

In the article, Paul Orfalea, founder of the Kinko’s copy chain said “I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence as a kid,” he said. “And that is for the good. If you have a healthy dose of rejection in your life, you are going to have to figure out how to do it your way.” Dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems, the article also mentioned. Interesting!! Click here to read the article.